Kingdom Hearts: A Hero's Awakening
by The Whirlwind Lancer
Summary: This is a new FF story that I have been working on. It takes place after the Kingdom Hearts II storyline, with a teen named Raikii who is just trying to get through life. After a strange day, and stranger dream, he awakes to find his town just isn't what


_**Always there for you, wherever you may be.**_

_**I keep you close to my heart**_

_**And think of you whenever I get the chance.**_

_**There is so much I want to tell you.**_

_**A new journey awaits me.**_

_**An adventure made just for me.**_

_**And yet, I can't wait for it to end.**_

_**All I can think about is you,**_

_**Hoping that you will think of me too.**_

_**As our hearts intertwine.**_

ANOTHER dream. Raikii woke up just as the sun peaked over the horizon. He shook his head.

"Who are those guys?" he wondered. Lately he had been having weird dreams. Of people he didn't know. Of places he had never been. He was so confused by the dreams, he totally forgot about his plans for the day.

"Awww man!" he exclaimed as he jumped out of bed. He had planed on going to the park today with his friends, and Kyomi said she would be there. Raikii, or Rai as his friends knew him, had always had a crush on Kyomi. The only problem is, he was never good at telling girls he liked them. Especially Kyomi. Every time he was around her, he wanted to put his arm around her. To be able to tell her how much he really loved her. But unfortunately, he had no idea how to say it.

He quickly changed into his usual cloths: a half buttoned up shirt, an undershirt of similar color (in this case, black and red), and black shorts. _Okay_, he thought, _today I'm going to tell her. Yep. Today's the day I ask her out._ He knew deep down inside his heart that he would more than likely chicken out and miss yet another perfect opportunity to ask her out. It wouldn't be the first time. He had been trying all summer to find a way to ask her out without really asking her out. But he gave up and decided just to shoot for it and hope it works. He knew it sounded pretty stupid, but if it worked, he wouldn't care. He wouldn't care if it didn't work, either.

Rai ran out to of his house to meet his friends. As he crossed the street to go to the park, he spotted as strange man walking down the road. His step was strange. As he took a step, his body would jiggle and his arms would sway. He had a huge head, and was had paper white skin. Or maybe it was a leotard? Before Rai could decide, the man vanished behind a building. _Strange_, he thought. He ran into the park where Itsugami, Shusuru, Ooima, and Aione were waiting for him. But his eyes didn't worry about them. He looked past them to see Kyomi sitting on a bench, waiting.

"'Bout time!" she yelled.

"Sorry, my-uh-alarm clock didn't go off," he lamely replied.

"Don't worry about it," Ooima said as he put a hand on Rai's shoulder, "we've all had those days." Unlike Rai, who wasn't too skinny but not to fat, Ooima was a heavyset guy with the IQ of a hammer. But despite his small brain matter, he was a generally good person. Aione is a very studious girl, but once she gets with her friends, she becomes uncontrollably dense. She is athletic, along with being smart. Shusuru is the life of the party. He will do anything to get some fun out of something. Known for having broken the most bones in his class, he isn't afraid to get his hands dirty. Itsugami is kind of like Rai. He is a very caring person, and also very loyal. He and Rai have been friends for a long time. They are almost like brothers.

"Well, lets get started!" Itsugami said.

"What are we going to do?" Aione asked.

"Well," Rai started, "I was thinking we could play some soccer."

"Yeah!" Kyomi exclaimed, "I love soccer!"

"Hey, that sounds like fun!" Ooima said.

"Let's do it," Rai said.

Rai, Kyomi, and Itsugami were ready and waiting as Aione, Ooima, and Shusuru prepared to kick off. Ooima was obviously playing goalie, as his huge stature demanded it. Kyomi was goalie for Rai's team. She was very quick and agile, and the perfect choice to keep the ball out. Rai waited for Shusuru to kick the ball, as Itsugami watched patiently. Finally, Shusuru kicked off. The ball went flying, but met Itsugami's head and fell to the ground. The game was on. Itsugami rushed past Shusuru as he tried to steal it, then met Aione. She tried to stay in front of him, but Itsugami merely pushed it in between her legs and ran off toward Ooima. He stood in front of the goal, his giant mass ready to block any shot. Itsugami ran to the left side of Ooima, but Ooima moved to block him. Itsugami kicked the ball at the goal, but Ooima did nothing, as he knew it was too high to make it in. Unfortunately, he miscalculated and the ball hit the post and bounced to the right. Ooima turned and saw Rai in the middle of a back flip, the ball inches from his foot. Rai kicked the ball and sent it soaring into the goal. He landed and turned and winked at Ooima.

The game went on for what seemed like only minutes. Back and forth, both teams scored goals, and both goalies block what they could. The scores went flying, and in the end, with the score fifteen to thirteen, they called it a day. The sun was now starting to go down.

"Wow, that was a pretty good game," Ooima said, out of breath.

"I can't believe we played all day," Aione said. They were all lying down on the grass. The beach was only a couple miles away, and they could hear the waves.

"Well, I'd better be off. I think my mom's got dinner cooking." Shusuru got up and dusted himself off.

"Yeah, me too," Ooima agreed. Soon, everyone but Rai and Kyomi slowly got up, said their goodbyes, and left. Rai and Kyomi stared at the sky as they tried to put a name to all the clouds they saw.

"Hey," Kyomi suddenly said, "let's go to the beach. I haven't seen the sun set over the ocean in a long time."

"Okay," Rai said as they both got up and headed to the ocean.

Rai and Kyomi strolled along the beach carrying their shoes in their hands, the sun still inching it's way below the horizon. They were holding a conversation about which flavor of ice cream was better.

"Well, I still say that chocolate is better," Rai said.

"But vanilla has that home sweet home taste," Kyomi argued.

"Yeah, but chocolate is vanilla with flavor, so chocolate also has that home sweet home taste."

Kyomi looked strangely at him. "What are you talking about? You can't taste the vanilla in chocolate ice cream."

"I never said you could taste the vanilla," Rai said, "I said that chocolate is vanilla with flavor."

"Vanilla is a flavor."

"And chocolate is a better flavor."

"Nuh-huh." Kyomi stuck her tongue out.

"Yeah-huh." Rai tickled her sides. She let out a squeal of laughter and ran out in front of Rai. He gave chase and races up to her. She turned around and saw Rai as he reached out to grab her. She dashed off down the beach, with Rai hot on her feet. Up ahead, there were rocks that jetted out into the ocean. Kyomi tried to hide behind one on the shore, but Rai was already heading to the other side. When she peeked out of the side of the rock, she didn't notice him sneaking up behind her. He went in for the kill, surprising her. She tried to get out of his grasp, but he held on. Then, Rai lost his footing in the sand and fell. Kyomi tripped over him and landed right next to him. They both lied in the sand, catching their breath. Rai looked over at Kyomi. She was staring at the sky again. Then she sat up and looked at the setting sun.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Rai sat up too. "Not as beautiful as you." Kyomi giggled.

"Well, aren't we the smooth talker?"

Rai smiled. "Only as smooth as you want me to be."

"Then you'd better start shaving," Kyomi replied with a giggle. "Well, my mom said she wanted me home before the sun went down." They both got up. Rai walked Kyomi to her house.

They were about to say their goodbyes, then Rai suddenly said, "Hey, Kyomi, would you like to go to lunch with me sometime?"

Kyomi smiled at Rai. "That sounds like a good idea. How about at the end of the week?"

Rai's life suddenly brightened at that moment. "Well-uh-I--Yeah. That's perfect!"

"Okay then," Kyomi giggled, "I'll see you then." And with that, she gave Rai a hug and a small kiss on the cheek. They said goodbye, and Rai began his walk home. He couldn't believe it. Not only did he manage to pucker up something, Kyomi said yes! _Two days_, Rai thought. Two days until their date. Rai was already dying of anticipation. Rai was so busy thinking of Kyomi that he didn't notice the man in front of him. He bumped into him, then took a step back.

"I'm-" he started, but then he gasped. This was the man he saw before, with the white leotard, or skin. He was very thin, and his head was flat on top, with a strange symbol that resembled a cross with a rounded body, pointed arrowhead ends, and two curves on the bottom. As for his skin, or so Rai assumed it was, it was pure white. He had hands, but no distinct fingers. His mouth, Rai assumed it was his mouth, was literally zipped shut. He-It had no eyes. Rai stared for a couple of minutes, then the scenery began to melt away. The houses behind him, the ocean to the side, the town in front of him melted into sand. He was left in darkness, with the creature in front of him.

Then, the creature's zipper began to unzip itself. Rai watched in shock as the zipper made it to the other side, and the "mouth" opened in a silent scream to reveal a small head inside. It was completely black, with black eyes and a small black, crooked smile. The creature took a step towards Rai, and he took a step back. _What is this thing?_ Rai asked himself. The creature leaped in the air, and Rai instinctively raised his hands. But what happened next was something Rai could not explain. He felt a warm glow in his right hand, then it expanded. The creature was knocked away. Rai opened his eyes to see a weird looking weapon. It looked like a sword mixed with a key. The shaft was long and rounded, and at the end there was a crown shape carved out of a pentagon. The entire thing was silver, with the exception of the part surround the handle, which was yellow. It had a chain hanging down from it, at the end of which was a small pendant shaped like a head with two big circles on it.

The creature had regained it's footing, and was now ready to attack again. But Rai was also ready. He didn't know what this key-sword thingy was, but now it was a weapon. The creature swung its body around and threw itself at Rai. Rai reacted by stepping to the side. The creature stood back up in a fluid motion, and Rai took the moment by storm and swung his weapon. It made contact with the creature, and Rai continued to swing it. He put all his power in his third swing and sent the creature flying. Rai suddenly realized they were standing on a platform. He didn't know how they got there, but he was determined not to stay. The creature elegantly returned to its stance, its body moving rhythmically. Rai wasted no time and ran straight up to the creature and attacked it with another series of blows. This time, when he swung his weapon for a power blow, the creature dissolved into white mist. Rai had no idea what just happened, but he assumed he won the fight.

He took a look around, and stared at the platform. It was a circular stained glass portrait of him, with Itsugami and Kyomi in the background. The two most important people in his life: his best friend, and his crush. Rai looked up and saw that stairs had appeared on the side of the platform. They led up to another, then more stares led to another, then another. Rai shrugged, then began to ascend the first set of stairs. Rai reached the second platform, where all that awaited him was a chest. Rai walked up to it, and examined it.

"_The keyblade is a universal lock pick. It will open anything. A chest, a door…and other things that are so precious they must be locked away."_

Rai looked around. That girl's voice sounded familiar. He looked back at the chest. _Here we go_, he thought. He tapped the chest, then a light ignited at the tip of the keyblade and shot into the keyhole of the chest. It opened, and Rai reached inside. He pulled out two key chains. One was white with a star-shaped pendant hanging from it. The other was black, with a dark crown pendant.

"_Key chains can personalize your keyblade, and also give it unique powers. Look for key chains wherever you are, and maybe you might find one you like. You can sheath your keyblade in your light, simply by relaxing and opening your hand. You can call on it whenever you need to."_

Rai looked around once more, then stood up straight and relaxed. He loosened his grip, and the keyblade disappeared in a flash of light.

"_You can call on it simply by picturing it in your hand, ready to fight."_

Rai moved toward the next set of steps, then ran into an invisible barrier. He fell flat on his butt, and looked up. In the gleam of light coming from somewhere, a giant keyhole was in the middle of the air. Rai looked at it confused for a moment. _Oh_, he remembered, _I need to use my key-thingy to open it_. Rai held out his hand as a ball of light appeared. He tightened his grip and swung down as his keyblade unsheathed itself from the light. He jumped back and twirled the keyblade, pointing it up at the keyhole. A beam of light shot out from the end of the keyblade into the keyhole. Rai heard a click, and the beam of light dissipated and the barrier vanished. Rai sheathed the keyblade and walked up to the third platform, where as it appeared, there was nothing. He stepped onto the platform and walked to the middle. _Hmm. All of these platforms have the same picture_, Rai thought. He looked up, and saw that a sword had appeared in front of him, floating above the ground. Rai looked confused, and turned around to see if someone was here, but found a shield also hovering above the ground. He looked to the side and saw a magician's staff. _Right. That's completely normal. Then again, this day hasn't really been normal._ Rai walked up to the staff.

"_This staff was made to perform powerful magic. Would you like to feel that power?"_

Rai stared, then shook his head and walked to the sword.

"_This sword is hand crafted and can deal powerful blows. Is strength what you are looking for?"_

Again, Rai stared then shook his head and walked to the shield.

"_This shield can withstand any attack made on it. Is the power to defend you and the ones you love important?"_

Rai stared at the shield, then bent down to pick it up. But when he touched it, it exploded into light. All the light then raced straight for Rai. In a flash of light, Rai was standing on the platform. He looked at his hands.

"_You have the power of the guardian now. Use it wisely, as you will be forced to make decisions that will affect your journey."_

"What journey?" Rai asked. There was no reply. He shrugged, and moved on to the last platform. A giant door was at the end of the platform, and Rai figured that he should open it. He began to walk to it when another white creature appeared in white mist. But he wasn't alone. There were three more of his buddies with him. Rai called out his keyblade and prepared to fight.

One of the creatures lunged out at him, and he sidestepped it. He ran to the other three and thrust his keyblade at one of them. It hit the middle one, and the other two slinked out of the way as Rai pounded the creature with the keyblade. It eventually died, disappearing into white mist. Rai turned in time to catch one of the creatures jumping at him. He raised his keyblade and blocked the creature. While it was still in the air, Rai swung, knocking it into the other two. He rushed forward and swung the keyblade for a multi-hit attack. Just as he planned it, his swing hit all the creatures, killing the one he had already wounded. He continued through his combo, and finished the last two stragglers. When he finished the last creature, He noticed that something had fallen through the mist. He walked up and picked it up. The object had a crown pendant attached to a chain. _It's a necklace_, Rai thought. He put it on and proceeded to the door. He lifted up his keyblade and unlocked the door.

"_Behind this door is the beginning of your journey. When you are ready, open the door."_

"Okay, crazy voice inside my head," Rai replied,

"_In your heart,"_ the voice said.

"What?" Rai looked confused. The voice did not respond. Rai gathered himself, then pushed the door open and stepped through.

Back at the beginning. That's where the big door led. Rai knew it was the beginning because the platform was the same color as the first. Rai put the keyblade down and leaned on it. _Now what?_ He sat there thinking, when he felt something. Something was telling him to turn around. He did, and wished he didn't. First to rise was a pair of gargantuan, white feet from the side of the platform. Then, legs appeared and began to lift up the body. It was huge. Its body was abnormal. The abdomen was thin, but its chest was large. Its shoulders were large and pointed, pointing out towards the sides. Its arms were thin like its abdomen, but the forearms were giant. Running up its body was a zipper. It had a scarf around it, or what seemed like a scarf, for behind it the four ends of the scarf were moving like tentacles. The strangest thing was its face, which was not present. Instead, the creature bore the same mark Rai saw on the creatures he fought, except his mark _was_ his face.

"This is not happening!" Rai yelled.

He began to turn around to run when he saw his shadow grow bigger. After it grew to a considerable size, it moved to the other side of the platform. There, it began to lift off the ground. First, a head came up out of the ground. It had long dreadlocks, which, much like the white creature's scarf, acted as tentacles, then its body and arms, and finally its legs. But something was wrong. Its abdomen had a huge hole shaped like a heart. Its eyes were yellow, and its mouth covered by its dreadlock tentacles. Rai couldn't believe it. He knew he was going to die.

"_Don't worry. Follow your heart. It is the strongest weapon you have. Only light can defeat darkness. Your light will prevail. It just needs you to guide it."_

"Uhhhh. Can I get a rain check?"

Both creatures raised their heads in a silent roar.

"I'll take that as a no," Rai said. He thought about his options. _Follow my heart, huh?_

Rai closed his eyes. Then he reached both hands out. A ball of light appeared in each hand. He closed his hands and opened his eyes. In his right hand, he held a black keyblade. It had what looked like a reversed crown on the end of a semi-flat blade, and bat-like wings surrounded the hilt. The key chain also changed. It was the black key chain Rai received from the chest. But he also had a second keyblade. This one, in his left hand, was white. It had what looked like a snowflake at the end of a strange blade; it split in half at the hilt and rejoined at the tip to form a heart. Angelic wings surrounded the hilt of this keyblade. Just as the first keyblade, this one sported one of Rai's new key chains. Rai put his left foot out and crossed his left arm across his body, his keyblade wrapped around it. He threw his right arm over his right shoulder, his right keyblade set behind him.

"Play time!" Rai shouted.

The behemoth creatures raised their fists and slammed them on the ground with surprising speed. _For something so big, they sure are fast,_ Rai thought to himself. He decided to try on the large black creature first, as it looked the toughest. He ran up to it as it walked toward him. The creature raised his left arm back, and Rai prepped himself. The creature swung, and Rai jumped on its arm. Rai ran up and stood on the creatures shoulder when he felt a shock on his left arm. He looked around and saw the white creature's body had stretched out and was leaning towards him. Its body was sending out electrical currents every which way, which were hitting the black creature. _So much for the toughest,_ thought Rai. He tried to focus on just beating the black creature, so he aimed for the creatures head and swung away. The creature staggered at the might of Rai's blows. Rai couldn't believe he was even harming the creature, let alone stunning it. But then, Rai felt a warm felling in his stomach. He looked down and saw an orb of light in and around his abdomen.

"Great," Rai said.

The orb split into four smaller orbs, and each one ensnared Rai's hands and feet. Rai was floating above the platform, a chunk of meat to two giant hungry dogs. The white creature stared at him, as did the black one. Then, they both drew their arms back. _They'll crush me!_ Rai thought. But then, he had an idea. As the creatures unleashed their devastating punches, Rai swung himself in his position above the platform and repelled the attacks with his two keyblades, which were still in his hands. The creatures staggered back, and the white creature flew back to the edge of the platform. It quickly straightened up, then it stretched it's arms out to grab Rai. It pulled him close to stare him in the face, then hurled him in the sky. Rai looked down (or in his case, up) at the creatures, then looked at his hands and feet. No orbs. Rai took advantage. As the he went down, he torpedoed straight for the white creature. He swung his keyblade and hit the creature on the face. Then, he used his momentum to jump towards the black creature. He hit the black creature on the face also, just as he planned to. He landed on the ground as both creatures fell to the ground. Then, they slid off the platform. Rai looked around. _No way. Not that easily…._

Rai was right. The platform tipped, and Rai slid to the edge. He stuck his keyblade in the platform and held on. Beneath him laid darkness, and both the black and white creatures, which were standing on the sides of the platform. But the thing that scared Rai the most was what the creatures were about to unleash, for each of them were holding up a giant ball of light. Whatever it was, it didn't look inviting. Rai felt the platform move again, and his keyblade's grip was lost. Rai fell towards the darkness, but then began to fall towards the platform again. This would have been a relief, if the creatures hadn't sent Rai a welcome back present or two. Both creatures had thrown their balls of light at Rai as he fell back to the platform. Rai was in a panic. _What do I do?_ Then he had an idea. He crossed his arms and threw his keyblades at the balls of light heading for him. The keyblades disappeared, then the balls of light blew up. Light was everywhere, and before Rai knew what happened he was on the ground, keyblades next to him sticking up out of the ground. He got up and saw the creatures on the ground stunned, the black creature lying across the white creature. _Now I'm in business!_ Rai pulled his keyblades out and ran up to the white creature's head. He unleashed as many powerful combos as he could, before the creature began to stir. He jumped on the creature's back and ran for the black creature. He managed to jump on that creature's back as the white creature began to get up. At this point, the black creature was also beginning to get up.

Rai grabbed onto the creature's shoulder as it got up, then continued his assault on the creature's head. The creature was furious. It tried to grab Rai, but Rai jumped off and slid down the creature's leg to the ground. He looked up as the black creature plunged its hands into the platform. Darkness surrounded its hands, then Rai looked up. From out of nowhere, giant meteors began to fall from the sky. _You know, I thought today was a good day,_ Rai thought sadly. He scrambled as meteors fell and hit the ground, sinking in and creating a small puddle of darkness. Rai looked at the black creature and saw that it was still bending over. _That's it!_ Rai ran underneath the creature as the dark meteor shower continued. There, Rai began to assault the head as the meteors fell around him. Eventually, the meteors stopped and the creature stood back up, holding its head as if it had a headache. The white creature now wanted a try. It floated up in the air, stretched out its arms, and sent out electrical currents. Rai dodged a couple, then decided to get a little risky. He jumped up and began to ride the currents. _Well, I didn't know I could do this._ He jumped from current to current, wondering why he wasn't being shocked. His answer came when he ran into a current and got the shock of his life.

"Okay, never do that again," Rai reminded himself.

Rai rode the currents up to the creature's head and swung away. Even though he wasn't on a current, Rai stayed in the air for the time he was smacking the creature's head. _I can fly now?_ Rai thought in amazement. Then the white creature gave up, falling back to the platform as Rai finished his air combo. As soon as he was finished, he began to fall. He landed on the ground, confused. _Darn. I thought I could fly._ Rai looked up and saw that both of the creatures were still tired from their attempts to squash him.

"_Now is your chance. Use the power of your heart. Darkness can't stop you. Twilight can't stop you. As long as you open yourself to light, you will always win."_

Rai jumped up in the air. He spun in the air as his keyblades began to glow. Then, he threw them at the creatures. They struck the creatures in a blinding light. Rai's keyblades returned to him, and he landed on the ground. He looked up and saw the creatures swaying, the dark creature fading into black mist and the twilight creature fading into white mist. Then they both fell toward Rai.

"Oh no!" Rai exclaimed.

He ran to the end of the platform, looked back, and saw the two behemoth creatures falling. He closed his eyes, but felt nothing hit him. He felt like he was falling. Falling into the darkness. He searched for a hand, desperately flailing his arms to reach someone. Then, after what seemed like an eternity, he felt a hand grab his. He was lifted up. He opened his eyes to see Kyomi in front of him.

"Rai! Are you okay?"


End file.
